


It Tasted Good

by Rueitae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Jewel of Jitan parallels Green Lion, Kidnapping, Magic, Magic-Users, Marriage Proposal, Monsters & Mana (Voltron), Nudity, Pike becomes Snow White for a few minutes, Self-Sacrifice, Stabbing, Strip Search, Surgery, Those Two Are Related, and by not nice people, briefly at the end, nothing sexual about it, or Sleeping Beauty whatever you prefer, talk of it anyway, without painkillers, worldbuilding through Jewel of Jitan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 08:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24966472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/pseuds/Rueitae
Summary: Meklavar’s vision is overtaken by green and her eyes strain as they widen in rage. The audacity of the witch to kidnap them, insult her and her people, attempt to murder Pike, and now this desperate attempt to win her with power strokes the embers in her heart. The Jewel of Jitan cries out to her.Burn the forest within. Create life anew.Meklavar and her family are but the Jewel’s humble Guardians. Who is she to deny its wisdom?“Don’t you touch him!” she bellows in response.~~~~~In which Pike finds the Jewel of Jitan. So does Haggar. And eventually so does Meklavar.
Relationships: Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt, Pike/Meklavar, Pikelavar
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	It Tasted Good

**Author's Note:**

> Sneaking this in before Pikelavar Month ends! Thanks for organizing Ivy! I think I managed to sneak in all the prompts! Some were more of a stretch than others lol.
> 
> My many, many thanks to [Sakarrie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakarrie/works) and [Ashka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashkazora/works) for their beta help getting this into shape!

Meklavar sighs heavily, shoulders slumping in surrender as she takes stock of where she is.

Aimless feet have led her up a small hill while her mind is otherwise occupied. Standing near the precipice of the overhang, she can see the vague shapes of her companions below loading their shares of treasure looted from the lair of the Coranic Dragon—or rather, the evil wizard Dakin, as it turned out. 

Glad to still be in the periphery of her friends while she mopes, Meklavar drops her boney butt to the rocky ground in one fluid motion. Here, far enough away that she won’t hear her friends’ revelry, she finds a needed moment of peace. After searching for days, she still doesn’t want to come to terms with the fear that has been building in her heart. 

The Jewel of Jitan is not among the treasures.

It hurts, of course, for everyone to have completed their quests in some way except for her. Even Jiro has found a promising lead to the whereabouts of his brother. Valayun and Pike have gold galore, but nowhere among the hoard is the smooth, green gem that is the lifeblood of her home. Block is ready to go back to his village and see his family restored from stone, while Meklavar’s will continue to suffer famine until the Jewel of Jitan is returned. 

Her arms are like noodles after the hard fought battle and hours of searching over the last two days. Ignoring the ache in her limbs, Meklavar takes off her helmet and allows her cropped hair to feel the evening breeze. Then, she leans back against a small boulder, her tired eyes fixating on the pink and purple clouds on display from the setting sun. Willing the picturesque scene to bring her peace, Meklavar commits the moment to memory before closing her eyes. Like Shiro taught her, patience will yield focus, and perhaps clarity into where her path leads next. 

The familiar noises of the forest are her companions. The rustle of leaves against the breeze and the earthy scents of the pine trees make Meklavar almost forget her sadness and feel as if she were home, back before the Jewel was taken and she swore to her parents that she would return it and prove to be a true Guardian like all those who came before her.

Warm breath like a whisper funnels past her ear a split tic before the voice does. “Come out here to _rock_ out?”

Meklavar shrieks. 

It isn’t even her primal and proud battle cry, simply a high pitched squeal—the most feminine sound she’s made in a long time. It’s made it far easier to traverse the lands and avoid unwanted attention from bandits and the unsavory ilk that way. 

Landing haphazardly on her back, Meklavar props herself up by her elbows to see the perpetrator. 

Pike squats and points to the boulder that served as her backrest not long ago. “‘Cause the rock, you know,” he clarifies with a wink and click of his tongue.

Snarling at Pike’s satisfied grin, she responds, “I needed some time to think _without_ interruption.”

Pike cocks his head to the side, ears twitching curiously in a manner that is far too _cute_ for a man who calls himself a ninja and assassin. His tail flicks with what she’s learned is interest. “About where to find your jewel?” he asks.

“Actually I--” Meklavar stops herself mid-sentence, realizing that Pike has hit on _exactly_ why she’s out here. Her smug rebuke dies on her lips, quickly replaced by a self-admonishing frown. Pike is far more socially aware than she gives him credit for. Meklavar knows it makes sense with his profession, but Pike’s perpetual friendliness and goofiness often lowers her guard and makes her forget how dangerous he can be.

“Yes,” she settles for. Sitting up, she worms her way back to the boulder and closer to Pike. Despite his dealings in the dark, he’s a good friend and has earned her trust. “It’s not here. I have to decide where to start looking next.” She sighs. “I’ll never get a chance to become a proper Guardian if it never returns. There will be nothing left to guard.”

Pike makes a show of thinking, finger tapping lightly on his cheek before his face lights up in an ah-ha moment. “We should go to the Everlight Bog! I have a buddy who lives there. If there’s a magical something missing, it's likely gone through his ears.”

Pleased as she is for the direction, Meklavar finds herself hung up on something else. “Wait, we?” she asks incredulously. “We saved Block’s village. The quest is over.”

Pike rolls his eyes. “For Block maybe, but your quest isn’t.” He rests his arms lazily on his bent legs. “Mek, you’re trying to find a jewel. That is _literally_ what I’m best at.” His smirk stretches wide across his face. “I’m not going away.”

Something in the way he says that makes her heart thump. Her cheeks warm with embarrassment as she names the feeling - infatuation. 

“You’d continue traveling with me to find it?” she asks hopefully, because nothing would bring her more joy other than the Jewel of Jitan appearing in her hands. 

Pike nods without hesitation, nudging her arm in a friendly way. “Of course! Come on, Mek, you and me are a great team. I sneak...” He makes two pretend legs with his fingers and walks them stealthily through the air. “and you whack!” he finishes as if swinging a large hammer. “There are thieves' guilds that only _wish_ they had the kind of rapport we do. And with your dedication, you’re gonna be the most amazing Guardian the Forest has ever had.”

Meklavar reaches out and hugs her ninja-assassin friend for all he’s worth, trapping his lanky arms to his sides in a way that earns a squawk in indignation. “Thank you, Pike,” she says in relief. “I really didn’t want to keep looking on my own.”

“Aww, Mek…” he starts softly, an adoration in his tone that is reflected in his smile. “I wouldn’t ever want to leave you.”

He doesn’t continue. _I wouldn’t ever want to leave you._ Period. 

Meklavar is sure her cheeks are as red as a dragon’s scales. 

“Pike,” she begins tentatively as she falls back on her heels. Her hands are clammy inside her gloves and her mouth becomes suddenly dry. She isn’t quite sure what she wants to say... thank you? Confess that she too wants his continued company and to be regaled by stories of his past (mis)adventures, his large, loving family, and how he seems to know someone in every town they stay? Regardless, Pike’s heartfelt offer deserves _recognition_.

The hair on the back of Meklavar’s neck stands on end. She is no mage, but she’s spent years training and traveling with Block to detect the very distinct ripple of energy in the air that indicates a spell has been cast. She smells the burn, and her neck hairs stand on end the split second that she sees the crackling lightning surrounding the fireball.

And it is headed right for them.

“Look out!” she yells. Automatically, she wraps Pike’s skinny figure in her arms once more and pulls him to the ground with her. 

Pike yelps in surprise as they hit the dirt and the spell explodes harmlessly in the air past the overlook. 

“Well,” Pike begins suavely. To Meklavar’s horror, her face is mere inches from Pike’s flirtatious one. “Usually I take a girl out for dinner first, but since we’re adventure buddies I’d be happy to skip a step or two.”

Meklavar is aware how her face both contorts in anger over Pike’s audacious ignorance, but also burns in embarrassment over the flirtatious words she wants to hear from him in any other situation than this. 

She isn’t given the chance to answer him. The air around them chills rapidly, as if a strong thunderstorm approaches. An undefinable pressure exerts itself onto her soul, feeding terror through every inch of her body. It isn’t anything like the dark wizard, Dakin; if anything, the unknown feels worse. 

They stand as one. Pike slowly untangles from her, his warm hands stiff as he releases her arm. Meklavar readies her axe and steels her resolve for whatever may come from beyond the treeline. A gust of cold wind rushes through her hair. 

From out of the dense forest come three robed figures. Their black raiments cover hidden limbs and faces, making it seem as if they float like a ghost. The space behind them warps into a dark void. 

Pike moves ever so slightly in front of Meklavar.

“We have come for the cat.”

The voices echo. It sounds as if the three voices speak as one entity, and Meklavar wonders for a moment if they are even of this world. Putting her own body slightly in front of Pike, her sharp mind runs through an encyclopedia of enemies trying to decipher what they might be. Not that their identity matters. 

Whoever they are, they will not take Pike. 

Brandishing her axe she growls, “He’s not up for grabs.”

“Wow. You are being way more forward than I ever--”

“Now is _not_ the time, Pike,” Meklavar insists curtly, never taking her eyes off their opponents. 

“Right,” Pike agrees firmly, grounding himself with a deep breath and a huff. His twin daggers are secure and ready to throw at a moment's notice, a dozen more hidden in his clothes, should the need arise. 

And the need may be upon them.

“Now, what do you want with little ol’ me?” Pike says almost casually, twirling a dagger with frightening speed and precision. 

Meklavar slowly digs a boot into the soft dirt, preparing to launch at a moment’s notice. The creatures pause, cornering her and Pike on the overlook. The irony of being trapped like rats does not escape her. 

Without warning, all three beings snap their heads to the side, making them look oddly curious without faces to show it. “Lady Haggar seeks that which he has,” they say together. “The well of magical power.”

Meklavar’s heart sinks to her stomach. Now she recognizes the druids. They serve the witch responsible for the Jewel of Jitan missing in the first place. The only reason they could ever want Pike rather than a Guardian like herself…

Is if he has the Jewel of Jitan. 

Pike laughs. “Me? Magic? Please. I’m the least magical person on the planet. Your Lady has it all mixed up.”

Each druid juts out an arm like a marionette, unnatural and stiff. “Give up the Jewel of Jitan.”

Tears sting her eyes. She doesn’t want to believe it. After all the adventures they shared, all the fond glances and earnest companionship, Pike _knows_ what the Jewel of Jitan means to her and her people. For him to have had it and lied to her face about it is something her heart can’t quite handle. Like the thief he is, Pike stole her heart with a smile. 

Surely, the druids lie just like their evil mistress. 

Pike laughs with a snort. “Good joke! I don’t even know what it looks like,” he says smugly. His fangs glint off the sunlight, and he reeks of so much confidence that Meklavar feels it fill her to the brim. If he found anything like it, he’d have told her!

“The Jewel isn’t here!” Meklavar says confidently. The druids begin to mutter an incantation. Meklavar’s heart beats swiftly in her chest as she turns to Pike. “We can’t let them finish!”

Pike nods curtly, eyes set in determination. 

By the time Meklavar adjusts her axe, Pike is already running past the druids. Daggers in hand, he leaps and runs up a tree. Twisting and falling from above, he throws a dagger towards a druid’s head with deadly precision. 

The druid screams, and its head snaps backwards as the dagger buries into it, the blade glowing a pale blue to indicate the magic at work. In a poof of air, the druid disintegrates, leaving only a pool of black cloth on the ground. 

Meklavar charges at the next one, swinging her axe towards its midsection, but the druid retreats into the air. As if in time has slowed, the druid descends towards her, chuckling ominously.

“A child of the Guardians will be a most fitting gift to the Lady.”

“Not a chance!” Meklavar yells back, readying her axe and daring the druid to come for her. “Haggar will never get the Jewel or its power!”

Hissing, the druid darts behind her, reciting the dark language that Haggar uses for her rituals. Dakin may have been proficient in the arts, but Haggar is a master. Meklavar does not wish to face her one on one.

The ground beneath Meklavar grows black as a new moon night. Tendrils bubble up on the surface, and she screams as they encase her legs at the ankle. She twists and tugs up with all her might, even reaching down to pull her leg up in desperation.

"Mek!" Pike's distressed cry comes from behind. Meklavar spares a glance to where he narrowly evades a lightning spell from the second of the two remaining druids. He races towards her with a fear in his eyes that makes her heart stop.

"Don't come any closer!" Meklavar orders desperately. "It's dark magic. They’re trying to make us easy pickings. I need magic to combat it!"

"Only the magic of the Jewel of Jitan can save you now," the two druids taunt together from above. Meklavar snaps a wary eye in their direction, unnerved that they moved without her notice. Their billowing black cloaks hide their incorporeal bodies as they circle Pike and Meklavar like vultures.

Pike's face twists in confusion. Despite the sticky situation, Meklavar remains convinced that, whatever is going on, Pike has not betrayed her by withholding information on the Jewel of Jitan and its whereabouts.

"They're right," Meklavar admits despondently. "I'm going to try and get out of this. Just don’t get captured in the meantime."

"On it," Pike confirms seriously. In a poof of smoke, he disappears, and Meklavar soon hears steel singing in the treetops.

In the knowledge that Pike will stay out of the druid’s grasp long enough, Meklavar takes a deep breath and then exhales slowly. She hasn't done this since childhood, but the lesson from her mother is still etched clear in her memory. Closing her eyes, she stills her body and reaches deep into her soul for the spark of magic gifted to her and all who share her bloodline. A piece of the Jewel of Jitan that resides in each of them, made to resonate with the Jewel itself.

She stands alone in her mind space, only streams of green magic for company among the swirling black and white void.

 _I need help_ , Meklavar's voice echoes in her own mind. _Please, I need to keep us safe._

A single point of green light shines momentarily brighter than the rest, as if acknowledging her plea. Blades of grass shoot up all around her, followed by blooming flowers and trees growing with such speed that they become mature in mere seconds. Soon, Meklavar is surrounded by an entire clearing amid a dense forest.

A humanoid silhouette forms on the opposite end of the clearing, her magic's answer to her petition. It becomes clearer and clearer until she sees the fluffy ears and cocky pose.

He turns.

Pike smiles at her.

The mind-space bubble bursts.

Meklavar is back in the real world, heart racing among the growing fear inside of it. The Jewel is pointing her to Pike, and so she looks for him. He is back on the ground, panting from the fight. Around him is a glow of forest green, radiating out like the sun's halo.

Meklavar's mouth is dry, unwilling to admit what is so clear in front of her. Without a doubt, the Jewel of Jitan is in Pike's possession, whether he realizes it or not.

Even though it hurts, she chooses to trust his word. Thief or otherwise, Pike is her friend.

She reaches out with her own spark of magic, sending a tether to anchor herself to the Jewel of Jitan and Pike himself. Connection secure, she yells, "Pike, run!"

Pike’s eyes are on the magical green cord that extends between the two of them. His face glows with understanding. With a curt nod, Pike runs. With a pop, Meklavar is free from the druid’s spell. It takes a few stumbling moments, but she quickly finds her feet and races after Pike.

He spares a look back, eyes wide as he watches the cord dissipate into the air. "I didn't know you knew magic!"

"Later, Pike!" Meklavar yelps as she scampers past him. "Just run!"

Sinister laughter follows them, but not druids.

"Foolish children."

Pike locks gaze with her, surely wondering the same as her: why have the druids dropped the chase?

Then Meklavar feels a tingle in the air, the sting of dark magic hitting a moment before a spell explodes in front of them.

She remembers falling, but not hitting the ground. 

~~~~~~~

Meklavar does not wake slowly. She does so with a start at Pike's sudden shriek of horror. After the sound, the next thing she notices is the tarry smell of dark magic suffocating the air.

Gasping, she sits up, eyes flying open. The scene before her is near overwhelming.

Through thick steel bars she makes out a lair worthy of an evil witch. It is damp and dreary with rocks for walls; a cave that can possibly be anywhere in the world. Their friends have no idea they’re even missing.

“Pike!” Meklavar yells. Her eyes scan the cavern with haste, catching the stone table covered in a dark purple cloth with gold trim not far away. It holds vials of varying shapes and sizes, each with different components inside: amber liquid, dried leaves, a dust that isn’t quite sand. In yet another bottle is a dark, swirling gas. Meklavar gasps when she sees vague forms of faces within, realizing without a doubt they are the same druids who captured them. That Haggar treats her summoned servants with such discourtesy is somehow not surprising to Meklavar. She has been witness to Haggar’s far worse treatment of her family.

Then Pike stands suddenly from behind the stone table and struggles in vain against two Galra—Haggar’s henchmen—who hold each of his arms. His fangs are far more prominent than usual, and his irises are nothing more than feral slits as he snarls with rage. 

All of that disappears as soon as he meets her gaze. His eyes grow wide, darting around just enough to take stock of the cage she’s trapped in. “Mek!” he yells back fearfully. The hesitation costs him as his captors lift him by the arms and drag him away.

Without the familiar weight of her armor, Meklavar stands too quickly, her head bumping on the ridiculously low ceiling of her prison. She grips the closest horizontal bar and strains to get as close as she can. “Let him go!” she screams, increasingly distressed as they drag him to a stone altar. “I’m the Guardian!” 

Her cage has been conveniently placed not far from Pike’s destination, allowing her the perfect view of whatever is about to transpire. 

“I know, child,” a hollow voice says that strikes fear down Meklavar’s spine. 

Haggar. 

The aged enemy of the Forest stands gracefully before her. Soulless eyes scarcely look Meklavar’s way, instead favoring her Galra servants holding a growling Pike before the altar. 

“Your time will come,” Haggar promises her. Elegantly, she glides across the stone floor. The moment before she reaches Pike, she holds out an index finger and twirls the long nail in a circular pattern. The spell freezes Pike completely.

Meklavar wants to cry as she watches his eyes move in fear, the rest of his body unable to do anything. “Stop! Don’t hurt him!”

Haggar cups Pike’s chin between her finger and thumb, raising his face ever so slightly. “Where is the Jewel of Jitan, Thief?” she asks coolly. 

Pike’s mouth twitches, momentarily freed from the spell. “I don’t know.”

Then, looking amused, Haggar raises an eyebrow. “Even with the spell of truth? The boy is an idiot.” She looks to her servants. “Search him, Commander Sendak—every inch of him.”

The instant Haggar turns, the spell breaks. Pike greedily sucks in air as if he’s been holding his breath the whole time. He is given no time to catch it, though, as Sendak and his subordinate rip off his scarf and slide the numerous rings off his fingers. 

“W-what are you doing!” Pike dreads with a higher than usual voice. He is ignored as his belt, jacket and headband all come off. As if to answer his question, a few handfuls of gold coins fall out as each bit of clothing is removed.

Meklavar opens her mouth to plead, demand, anything to get them to stop, but Haggar lifts a finger and Meklavar can’t open her mouth, words morphing into mumbles. 

“It is not yet your turn to speak, Guardian,” Haggar says. “You will bear witness to the Forest’s downfall. Then you will speak to your family of their failure to protect the Jewel of Jitan before they die.”

Meklavar screams muffled obscenities, pounding at the bars of her prison. Though outwardly angry and desperate to do something, inwardly she feels her heart grieve, knowing her quest is over and that she’s failed in the most spectacular way possible. 

Stripped down to his trousers, Pike has an actual fear in his eyes that Meklavar has never seen. The entire group has had their share of terrifying moments, but dressed down in his underwear, he is exposed with a vulnerability that makes Meklavar want to look away. Scars litter his body—ugly ones so unlike the cool one over his eye that he brags about but never tells how he got. 

Pike isn’t that much older than she is. The scars show a short lifetime of pain and suffering. 

Even so, Meklavar can’t turn away, not even to give Pike any amount of privacy and spare herself the horrible thoughts of how he got each and every scar. She needs to find where the Jewel of Jitan is and figure out a way to stop Haggar from obtaining it. 

“Y-you don’t need to look there. There’s nothing there,” Pike rasps as Sendak hooks a claw around the top of his underwear.

Sendak chuckles in a low tone. “No quarter afforded to sneaky thieves.”

Pike can’t retort in time. The last shred of clothing is ripped from him, putting Pike on display. Meklavar feels the heat rush to her face as his eyes find her first—his face nearly as red as her own must be. She apologizes through her facial expression the best she can. 

The second Galra tosses the last of Pike’s clothing onto the floor in a bored fashion. “The Jewel isn’t here, Lady,” he says far more professionally than his search. The news only gives Meklavar partial relief. The Jewel is not on his person, which means he hadn’t lied to her! 

Yet...the magic surrounding him back before their capture unmistakingly was the protection of the Jewel of Jitan. 

Where _is it?_

Sendak smirks, his one good eye sparkling with malice. “What shall we do with him, Lady?”

Haggar approaches, and Pike squirms under her gaze. A purple light shines at the tip of her fingernail. 

An unholy screech echoes through the cavern. 

“Foolish boy!” Haggar seethes. “The Jewel of Jitan is nearly merged with his quintessence,” she continues in disgust. Turning her back to Pike curtly, she stalks away and issues her order without hesitation or guilt, “Cut him open.”

“What?” Pike shrieks, ears and hair standing on end. The two galra force him back onto the stone altar. 

“No!” Meklavar screams in terror as shackles and rope are used to hold Pike down. Haggar pays her no mind, rushing to the stone table full of vials and selecting which ones she needs. Without the attention on Meklavar, she has her voice back. 

“Do what you want with me, leave him alone!” she pleads. Her hands grip the bars of her cell so hard that they may break skin at any time. 

Sendak brandishes a serrated dagger. Meklavar can’t see Pike’s face any longer but she hears his distressful cries and can watch his lower body twist and turn. 

“Can’t we talk about this?” he squeaks fearfully. “I’m totally willing to take a laxative!” 

Sendak raises the dagger without remorse. “I have been looking forward to this, thief,” he says and brings it down. 

“Pike!” Meklavar screams at the top of her lungs, utterly horrified. 

He lets out a strangled yell as the steel embeds roughly into his stomach. Meklavar’s heart catches in her throat at the sound, struggling to comprehend that not long ago they sat together in peace on the overhang. Now, Haggar’s henchman adjusts his grip and gleefully begins to carve Pike open like a roasted bird.

Meklavar’s soul shatters over being so helpless to stop this madness. Her knees grow weak and become unable to support her weight. Her arms hang limp at her sides. While she drops to the hard stone floor of the cavern, her hatred of Haggar and Sendak grows with each scream of agony and heart wrenching sob that comes from Pike’s lips. 

He’s going to die before her eyes if Sendak doesn’t cease this torture. 

All of the terror and anger mix inside of her, urging her magic to bubble to the surface and do _something_. She can’t lose Pike. Not after he promised not to leave her. 

A sob catches on her throat and Meklavar feels the tears on her cheek. She loves him.

“Stop!” Meklavar screams one last time. 

The world stops. 

The magic spark from within her explodes like a volcanic eruption. Her limbs tingle with a burst of newfound energy. Though overwhelming, Meklavar welcomes the familiarity of the Jewel of Jitan answering its Guardian’s call. Not a Guardian in training, but a proper Guardian. 

The first thing Meklavar does with her power is throw Sendak against the wall—as far away from Pike as possible. She sends the other Galra to the ceiling and allows gravity to knock him unconscious. 

Beads of sweat roll down Pike’s face and merge with the tears that flow freely from his eyes. His chest beats erratically, and his eyes are tight with fear and pain. Meklavar lets the power of the Jewel flow from her hands and across the way, aiming to heal him.

“I do not think so, child.” 

A blast of dark magic sends Meklavar backwards, iron bars meeting the back of her head painfully. She slumps to the floor, but almost immediately, the rage in her heart at Haggar’s voice fills her to the brim with energy. Her magic is so full it feels as if a dam in her soul will burst.

So she lets it. 

Meklavar isn’t sure how she comes to a standing position or that she gently touches her feet back to the ground with the grace of a bard. The metal bars no longer hinder her sight, scattered in pieces across the ground. 

Haggar summons a dark sphere, held at the ready in the outstretched palm of her hand. “The power of the Jewel of Jitan is intoxicating, is it not?” she begins calmly, with a curiosity Meklavar recognizes from her own inquiries over the years. “Instead of fighting me, why don’t you join me? You can have your precious cat, and we will both draw power from him for eternity.”

It doesn’t take much to imagine the witch’s proposed future. The ironic and horrid idea of Pike locked up for eternity, like the precious gems he often seeks, only to be used to syphon energy from, tears her heart apart.

Meklavar’s vision is overtaken by green and her eyes strain as they widen in rage. The audacity of the witch to kidnap them, insult her and her people, attempt to murder Pike, and now this desperate attempt to win her with power strokes the embers in her heart. The Jewel of Jitan cries out to her.

_Burn the forest within. Create life anew._

Meklavar and her family are but the Jewel’s humble Guardians. Who is she to deny its wisdom?

“Don’t you touch him!” she bellows in response.

The wave of power and life shoots towards Haggar before Meklavar can even consider a course of action. The Jewel of Jitan acts on its own and uses her as a conduit, to which Meklavar is more than happy to be. Haggar, in turn, growls and morphs her dark magic into a shield. Green meets black in a flurry. Meklavar pushes with her will. Nevermind that Haggar has tormented her family for centuries, she will end this here and now.

Because Haggar stands between her and a dying Pike. 

And she _will_ get to Pike and heal him.

Even through the darkness of Haggar’s magic, Meklavar can see the witch’s increasingly distressed expression slowly changing from annoyed to something akin to horror. It fuels Meklavar’s attack, sensing the weakening of her family’s ancient foe, and going in for the kill.

“No! Not when the Jewel is within my grasp!” Haggar begs desperately. “Master, I beg you for more power!”

She screams as green overtakes black, the shriek becoming more and more high-pitched before it fizzles out completely.

_Well done, Guardian._

The world loses its green tint, and Meklavar falls to her knees in exhaustion. Her legs fail her and give out completely as she continues to slide to her butt, the back of her hands falling limp to the ground before her. 

The cavern is transformed. What was once dark and gloomy is now filled with life. Luminescent moss and fungus grow on the walls, and meadow flowers grow upon the ground. Such is the power of the Jewel of Jitan.

Meklavar promises herself to marvel later. Her eyes find Pike, who lies atop the stone altar, still, restraints removed and discarded to the floor around him. The dagger, too, is removed from his body and held captive by flowering vines of blue.

“Pike,” she breathes. Though she feels as if she can sleep for a thousand years, Meklavar finds the energy to stumble towards him. 

She falls into the stone that makes Pike’s bed and desperately cups his face. To her relief, he sleeps in peace—not a hint of agony apparent on his face. His brows are high and relaxed, as if enjoying a pleasant dream.

“I hope I’m in your dream,” she whispers with hope, running her hand down his cheek. Her eyes go to his stomach, where there is no indication there was ever a dagger wound. The Jewel of Jitan has even amusingly provided mossy dressing for his privates.

“I was so scared,” Meklavar confesses in relief. She isn’t sure if he can hear her, but she can’t keep the words in any longer. Her hands fall upon his well-toned chest. “You promised you’d never leave me. I’m holding you to that.”

With a deep breath, she leans down and presses her lips to his. “I love you, Pike,” she says. Her vision, not long ago refined through the power of the Jewel of Jitan, is now cluttered with salty water. Every fiber of her being wills her voice to echo the sincerity she feels in her heart. “I trust you that you weren’t lying to me.”

Pike’s eyebrows scrunch together adorably, and his eyes flutter open. Meklavar smiles, wanting it to be the first thing he sees. 

“What...happened?” he asks, eyes slowly wandering between her and the ceiling. “There was a dagger and—”

“The Jewel of Jitan somehow got _inside_ your body,” Meklavar says with a laugh, though it comes out as half a sob—one of relief that Pike is alive and well. “Haggar was trying to fish it out.” 

“It’s...really inside of me?” He looks down towards his belly, eyes growing wide in panic, and shrieks, “My clothes!”

Meklavar steps back as Pike sits up and comically gathers the moss around him. His tail twitches and a blush colors his cheeks. “Y-you didn’t see anything, did you?”

“Sorry,” she responds, hoping her own blush says enough. “It wasn’t the most awful view ever.”

All air seems to exhale from him, and his entire face glows red. 

Taking pity, Meklavar bends down and retrieves Pike’s trousers. “Here, I’ll look away.”

He nabs them and jumps to the opposite side of the stone altar. It barely takes two ticks before he’s finished and sits on top of the stone, legs swinging off the side Meklavar stands on. 

Pike coughs, head swiveling around to take in the new view. “This place looks amazing.” He stares at her with somelike like amazement. “You did this? I…” His eyes rove down, and he covers his stomach with the palm of his hand. “I was dying.”

“That’s the Jewel of Jitan,” Meklavar says with a light smile. “Remember? I told you it restores life. My family are its Guardians so I can use it to do some magic.”

“Yeah,” Pike says as if it were obvious, eyes still full of wonder at the incredible sight around them. “I thought you were talking about your home, not literally healing.” 

“Haggar wanted it for a reason,” Meklavar replied. “But none of that matters now. She’s gone. The Jewel is safe and _you’re_ safe.”

“How did it even get in there?” Pike marvels, poking his belly. “I’d remember eating a gemstone.”

Meklavar closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Reaching out to the Jewel of Jitan itself, she confirms what Haggar had been angry over. “It’s melding with your quintessence already. That means it's been in your body for days,” she emphasizes. “It must have been right before we were about to fight Dakin.”

Pike hums thoughtfully. “The only time I ate in Dakin’s lair was at the buffet table. There were grapes, and apples, and the best lettuce wrap I’ve ever had in my life.” 

“That lettuce wrap…” Meklavar says with a wince. “Did it have something on it that kinda looked like a fancy arrow you would see on roadside signs?”

There is silence as she watches Pike make the connection. “Oh, Quiznak,” he says in disgust, “I thought the Jewel of Jitan was a lettuce wrap. It tasted so _good_ ,” he whines in betrayal.

Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, Meklavar smiles. Her heart is overwhelmed with relief and joy that he didn’t lie to her. “I knew I could trust you.”

Pike’s hand falls onto his stomach, and she hates the frown that seems stuck on his face. “I still technically stole it,” he says dejectedly, his hand starting to shake. ”You...probably need it back, huh?” 

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Meklavar promises. She rests a hand comfortingly on his leg, heart racing as she realizes what must be done next. “There’s a solution to this. Let’s get out of here and get back to the others first. They're probably really worried about us.”

His hands continue to shake, accompanied by a heavy sob. “I wish it hadn’t healed up so nice if you have to cut in again,” he manages to say.

“What?” Meklavar says in shock. “Pike, I am not cutting you open. That’s…”

“Yeah I know it’ll probably kill me, or at least hurt a lot since you can just heal me up again,” he says with increasing panic. His eyes rove around the cavern—anywhere but at her. “But you need it back for your home, right? I-” he gulps with a shiver. “My life isn’t worth your whole village.”

Meklavar likes to pride herself on her intellect. Though the only magic she can use is through the Jewel of Jitan, she has knowledge of the world, the theoretics of how magic works. All of that seems to fail her, though, as she struggles to understand what Pike is telling her.

“Okay, that doesn’t even deserve a proper response because of how ridiculous that is,” she tells him sternly. “I am not going to kill you.”

“But you need the Jewel!” Pike insists. “Ancients, Mek, I feel awful. I’ve had it this whole time. I swear I didn’t know!” He sighs dejectedly. “You were right. I’m just a dirty thief.”

Meklavar sucks in a breath, fury filling her. “You are one of the kindest people I’ve ever met and one of my best friends. You are irreplaceable, Pike, and the best ninja-assassin we could ask for.” She pauses only briefly to prepare herself for her next line, which she wants to be sure leaves no room for argument. “And I am going to kiss you right now.”

Pike’s eyes go wide, and the blush returns. “I have your family’s Jewel!”

“I’m very aware,” she says. It takes every piece of will she has to keep her tone as butterflies prance around in her stomach at what she is about to propose—literally. As a Guardian charged with the protection of the Jewel of Jitan that currently resides _inside_ of Pike, there is no other choice available to her.

A wave of calm overtakes her. If it has to be anyone, Meklavar is glad it is Pike. She continues, “Which is exactly why I’m going to kiss you now, and then marry you.”

The noise from Pike’s mouth sounds something akin to a dying animal, and his face is filled with disbelief. “Mek--” 

Meklavar braces herself for rejection, hands curled into fists like the twisted balls of nerves she feels in her gut. She thinks back on all the fond gazes they’ve shared, the held hands and hugs with obvious blushes. Those moments had been real, and up until now she was so sure they hadn’t been figments of her imagination. 

It doesn’t take away the suddenness, though. 

She gulps and focuses on reigning in her breath, which has been slowly increasing in her panic. Here she is talking about marriage when neither of them have even said ‘I love you’. 

How can she even expect him to be willing?

Pike’s astonishment dissipates, replaced by a playful grin. His tone switches all too easily to the teasing smugness that makes her heart flutter. “You really were serious before.”

Relief floods into her body at his amiable response and fills her with confidence to explain in full. “Like you haven’t been?” she scoffs, matching his flirty tone. “I know soft eyes and long looks when I see them. Even before my duties as a Guardian of the Jewel called for this, I was hoping we’d end up here eventually…” She grins. “If you don’t mind skipping a step or two.”

Blessedly, Pike's mouth twitches up into a smile, and his tail flicks happily. “I’m really looking forward to our next adventure—Wait,” he pauses, eyes widening and jaw dropping comically, “your... _duties_?” he squeaks out in surprise. 

Meklavar nods, cheeks burning and she decides to pay more attention to the vine actively breaking apart the blade that nearly killed Pike. “Whether you want it or not, you _are_ the Jewel of Jitan now,” she explains. “My family has always had a part of it passed down through our bloodline. From now on, the Guardian and the Jewel of Jitan will be as one...starting with our children.”

She fully expects Pike to pale at the idea. With his solitary profession, surely a family is the last thing on his mind.

But Pike grins broadly, his ears perking up in delight. “Children? Like, I get to be a dad, and to more than one?” he says with a sparkle in his eyes.

It’s so infectious that Meklavar can’t help but smile as well. “One day!” She jumps up next to him on the stone and leans into his shoulder. “First I want to enjoy spending time with you. And not just because you have the Jewel inside of you, but because I love you.”

In a flash and as quick as his profession would suggest, Pike takes her into an ecstatic hug, kissing her temple. “I love you, Mek. I’m so happy we get to stay together.”

“Me too,” she whispers into the crook of his neck as she hugs him back. “Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rueitae.tumblr.com/)! Please leave a comment if you liked it! I'm anxious to know what you liked!


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